Camphor trees planted in the 19th century were incorporated into the large gardens.

The villas sold quickly. On average, there were about two families per house.

Rubbing shoulders with Shanghai elite

This was not an ostentatiously wealthy neighborhood compared to the vast gated estates on Rue Lafayette (now Fuxing Lu), where the Kungs and the Soongs lived. But from the beginning Rue Massenet (now Sinan Lu) hosted an extraordinary assemblage of revolutionaries, political figures, writers and artists.

In fact, there has never been a neighborhood like this. Ever.

There has never been a neighborhood like this. Ever.

Mei Lanfang, the dazzling opera star, lived at No. 87. He was the most popular performer in the China.

Feng Youlan, the most famous living Chinese philosopher, lived on Rue Corneille (Gaolan Lu).

The governors of Jiangxi and Hunan provinces, generals and politicians from the Kuomintang government kept houses (and mistresses) here. Tycoons, economists and spies lived in adjacent mansions.

Rubbing shoulders with warlord ministers and Japanese fascists were the outstanding intellectuals and leaders of the left.

Lu Han, Yunnan head of resistance movement against Japanese occupation, had a house at 44 Sinan Lu. Sun Yat-sen’s house was down the block.